1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to devices that clean animal carcasses. More particularly, it relates to a hide-on washer that removes organic matter from animal carcasses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The purpose of washing animal carcasses after slaughter and prior to hide removal is to reduce or remove organic matter and pathogens that are likely to be present on all carcasses, thus lessening the chances of cross-contamination from hide to raw meat.
A problem exists in cleaning whole animal carcasses after they have been killed and prior to the hide being removed. Conventional hide-on carcass washing, whether manual or mechanical, uses high volumes of water often boosted to high pressures.
The known conventional methods are inadequate to remove sufficient amounts of organic material and pathogens.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it would not have been obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art how to develop an apparatus capable of removing such organic material and pathogens from a carcass in a more effective manner.